The Misfits
by Blue Eyed Pandas
Summary: Six students, of different stereotypes, are sentenced to Saturday detention which happens to land on a very important day for each of them. While their reasons for being there are up in the air, and they might start off on the wrong foot, they all eventually find out there's more to each person than they thought.
1. Three Rules

**The Misfits**

 **Prompt:** _Six students, of different stereotypes, are sentenced to Saturday detention which happens to land on a very important day for each of them. While their reasons for being there are up in the air, and they might start off on the wrong foot, they all eventually find out there's more to each person than they thought._

 **A/N: This is from my series on tumblr.** _So I was watching one of my favorite movies last night (The Breakfast Club) and I had an idea for a story! I love it when that happens. I had a couple drabbles that I was going to post, but I wasn't sure if they were good enough and this seemed like a better idea to me. As of right now (because I haven't finished the story) I haven't decided if there are any specific pairings. I'm just gonna go with the flow. This is also an AU so the characters have a few different traits than in the show. Riley and Maya are still best friends. That will never change. Also, Riley has an older brother in this fic. In the beginning (before the show aired), she was set to have an older brother named Elliot, and I thought it would be great for her to be the middle child._

 **Word: Count:** 2,419

* * *

 **Part 1- Three Rules**

At the sight of the old, brown stone building sitting in the middle of the industrial city, Riley Matthews huffed in frustration. Her fingers clenched her phone so tightly, her knuckles turned white. It wasn't that she didn't like being at this place (she was forced the law to go five days a week for eight hours a day), it was the fact that because of a stupid incident, she was sitting outside on the sixth day of the week she had been attending class. Saturday morning.

"You're going to break your phone if you keep using it as a stress reliving item," her older brother, Elliot stated at he parked the car in front of the steps. She said nothing. "You're only going to be here till three."

She looked at him quickly in rage. "That's seven hours I could be practicing for the concert, which by the way, is TONIGHT!" Her voice rang in the vehicle as she fell back into her seat and huffed. Not only did she have detention for seven hours, she was less then 12 hours away from her concert, in which scouts from Juilliard School of the Arts would be attending.

He looked at her sympathetically, even though she basically yelled at him harshly. A few years ago, he probably would have yelled back at her, but he understood the stress and anxiety she must be dealing with, since tonight could make or break her future to attend one of the elite schools in the country for music making. Plus she was good kid, always followed her parents rules, she did well in school, and practiced the violin hard. It was the instrument she based her whole life around.

Since the day she held the small instrument at the age of four, she wanted this to be her profession. Despite her parents (father in particular) wanting her to be an athlete, like Elliot and her little brother, Auggie, she rather spend her days sitting in front of a music sheet, rubbing hair and strings making beautiful melodies. Her mother supported her from the beginning, and after Mr. Matthews saw the potential she had to be one of the greats, he stopped pestering her and let her do her own thing. She was her own person, and deserved to do what she desired, since it was her life and not her parents.

"So I'm assuming mom and dad don't know about this?" He asked.

She sighed defeatedly. "No, they don't. If they did, they would flip and who knows what will happen. So I told them I was going to be here practicing. Unfortunately, I was told myself that I couldn't bring anything but my homework and food for lunch, so you mind if I leave my violin here in your car?"

His brown eyes looked at the old case and nodded. "Yeah, so I'm picking you up at three?" Riley nodded, fingers now fiddling with the ends of the case. "Am I also picking up Maya too?"

"How did you know she was going to be here today?"

He gave her a look that said really? "Because ninety-nine percent of the times you get in trouble, Maya Hart is not trailing far behind. I've been watching that for the last ten years of our lives."

Yes, more often it was Maya who got into difficult inconveniences, and if Riley was ever put in a situation where she was at fault too, it was because of her troubled blonde best friend. Normally it was small stuff that caused her to get lunch detention or to stay after school for an hour, but recently Maya had been rebelling to the point she could have been in handcuffs. Riley could never really tell her to not continue this behavior directly, but instead hint to her that what she was doing was not acceptable. Her life at home wasn't the best situation and the brunette understood that this behavior was normal in order to get attention from mom and dad.

But this act was taken too far, and Maya had dragged Riley right down with her. To the bottom of the pit itself.

Elliot tapped his thumb on the wheel of the car. "You better get in there," he stated. "Because we all know Mrs. Know's the Librarian. She ain't gonna put up with tardiness and if you get suspended, mom and dad are really gonna flip."

He was right, and she groaned in aggravation as she opened the car door to get out. She spotted the blonde on the top of the steps, and turned back to face her brother. "I'm ready for this day to be over with."

They said nothing as they walked the halls silently down to the library. Every now and then she could look over and spot the guilt on Maya's face. Riley hated that her best friend felt this way, but it was technically her fault that they were here on a Saturday, serving detention. Not to mention the brunette was a tad angry with the blonde, and Riley hated that she felt this way too. It was very rare to have this feeling towards her. They weren't supposed to be mad at each other, ever. They were supposed to be the others escape. A way out of stress. But today wasn't that day.

In the library, things were quiet, as they should be. Three chairs had been taken up so far. In the front, Isadora Smackle sat, with all the study equipment she could possibly bring, besides her laptop. Riley found it extremely odd that the smartest girl and not to mention, popular girl in school would be caught in Saturday detention, but was reminded that she, herself was here too.

In the other two seats, Lucas Friar and his adopted brother, Isaiah Babineaux sat, quietly whispering to one another, before looking up at the two girls who had just walked in. Lucas was the most popular guy in school for a newbie, as well as one of the most arrogant, self-centered people too. With his dazzling smile, muscular biceps, one look at a girl could make them swoon in his presence. Riley was more annoyed than anything else. Yes, he was devilishly handsome, she'd give him that, but his attitude and first impression gave Riley a bad taste in her mouth.

Isaiah was different. He was Friar's adoptive brother. A southern gentleman from Texas, who said "please" and "thank you" on a regular basis, as well as "yes ma'am," "no ma'am," "yes sir," and "no sir." He was also the class clown, who always tried to make the best out of a hard situation. Riley happened to have him in a few of her classes, and she enjoyed his presence more so than his obnoxious step-brother.

Riley and Maya took their seats, sitting at the same table, but on separate ends. The blonde glanced at the brunette in hopes that their eyes would meet. Riley couldn't look at her, at least not right now. She found the clock sitting on the checkout desk in front of the office door. 7:58. Two minutes before the torturous day would begin.

The door to the office opened and Mrs. Knows, with her silver grey hair, oversized glasses and rag looking face appeared. She might not have looked like much, but she could be scary, when she wanted to be. Just before she opened her mouth to speak, the bulky door to the entrance of the library opened and Farkle Minkus appeared, walking at his own pace to the seat in front of Riley and Maya.

"Mr. Minkus," the Librarian said, "almost late, aren't we?" Riley wished she could see his face, but he said nothing so the old lady continued. "Alright, you're all here till three today. Rule number one, no talking. Rule number two, no cell phones." A groan came from every one. "Rule number three, if you disrupt me while I'm watching—doing work, this will no longer be a Saturday detention, but a suspension." Ouch. "Put your cell phones on the desk and I will come collect them. You will get them back at the end of the day." She looked up. "Yes, Mr. Babineaux?"

Riley turned to see that he had been raising his hand. "What are we supposed to do till then?"

"Well, you were informed to yourself books to study, read, writing materials to do homework. Or you could just twiddle your thumbs all day long," she chuckled. "As long as your quiet and following my three rules." She collected the phones and waddled back to her office, closing the door.

"Well this is pointless," Lucas stated, standing up from his seat. "Come on Zay, let's scram." Isaiah didn't move though and opened his mouth to protest.

Just before passing, Maya stood up to meet him. "Sit down Ranger Rick. You heard the lady, breaking the rules meant suspension. You might be new here, but I'll give you a piece of advice. Mrs. Knows is not a lady to tip toe around. She won't hesitate to pull out a pink slip." She leaned forward on her desk. "You really want that on your record ball boy?"

Riley could hear Zay's chuckle from the back. Lucas looked at him, "What are you laughing at?"

"She called you Ranger Rick and Ball Boy," his tone made Riley want to laugh, but she suppressed the urge. She was supposed to be upset right now.

Lucas rolled his eyes and looked down at Maya seriously. She was at least a foot and a half shorter than him, but she didn't care. She knew her size, and she was proud. "Look Blondie, I ain't got time to sit around for seven hours doing nothing. Zay and I have a big game tonight and this we should be prepping, not twiddling our thumbs."

Farkle turned in his seat. "And you think we're here to sit around and do nothing? You think we all don't have something better to do, or somewhere to be? It's not just your life that's important. This time is blocking us from our lives too. So you can sit down and suck it up like the rest of us." He turned back around and continued to read from the manuscript in his hand.

Minkus was the smartest guy in the school, and everyone knew that. He was also one of the hottest guys too. Not Lucas Friar hot, but still hot. If you had never met him before in your entire life, you probably would have picked him out to be a prep, guaranteed admission into Princeton University, or some other Ivy League school, not because he was smart enough, but because his dad had all the money in the world to send him. You'd say he was a popular guy that partied and could have any girl he liked on his arm. Maybe he was obnoxious too, arrogant and only cared about materialistic nonsense he could buy from anywhere on Fifth Avenue.

But he was just the opposite. With physical qualities of a pretty rich boy and being somewhat athletic, he was a loner. You could normally find him in a library studying for classes he had been dull-enrolled in by his parents through NYU, or in the Science lab on the north end of campus, face stuck to a microscope. He had friends, but they were the obnoxious rich smarties he didn't click with or the kids who used him for his money. It was really sad.

Lucas looked annoyed staring down at Maya, while her raised eyebrows told a different story. "You heard the genius, Hop-a-Long."

He looked warningly at Zay who started snickering once again. Then he turned to Farkle, who was no longer paying attention. "If you're a genius Minkus, why are you in Saturday detention? I thought you'd be smart enough to dodge a situation like this." It was a good question.

Farkle didn't glance away from the words on his page, but stated, "That's my problem, not yours, and you're forgetting that I'm not the only genius gracing your presence at this moment." His finger pointed to the side towards a certain lady with pitch black hair.

Maya cocked her head to the side. "Yeah, Smack-lay, what brings you to the land of the troubled?"

The dark-haired girl turned slightly to the right. "It is none of your business to know why I have been sentenced to this dreadful atmosphere, but if you must be reminded, rule number one states that we should not be talking, otherwise this dreadful day will be spent confined in our rooms and none of us will be able to enjoy going to the events we wish to attend, playing the games you desire to win, or what ever it is you all do in your spare time. I for one have no desire to to take part in this conversation no more. I have better activities to do at this desk other than exercise my gums that lead to my suspension and the beginning of my problematics to my early acceptance to Princeton." Her face whipped around so quickly, her hair flew behind her.

Lucas, defeated walked back over to sit down. "So what are we supposed to do?"

Riley licked her lips thinking about what she could do that would benefit her. They were in a library, full of books. She was sure she could find a music book with the classical song she was performing this evening. She stood up, and Maya looked at her curiously. "Where you going Riles?" The blonde began to stand back up with her.

But Riley turned quickly on her heels, holding out her hand for her to stop. "I'm just going to get a book. That's it."

Maya's expression dropped. She hadn't meant to sound that harsh and demanding, but the tone came out too soon with the words. Her best friend sat back down, and Riley had caught Farkle's blue eyes with her own. She couldn't read his expression, and that drove her insane. Usually she was great at reading people, but she could never tell what Farkle Minkus was thinking. Ever.

She turned away, heading for the music selection in the huge library. It was time she put her focus on to the concert tonight. People drama was the least of her worries now.

* * *

 **Preview to next chapter:**

 _"_ _Goodie-two-shoes-Matthews?" Lucas said, eyeing her who had looked away from him. "If you're a goodie, then what brings you to a detention hall? Especially Saturday detention?" Yes, because they all know Saturday detentions are equivalent to one day in school suspension._


	2. The Essay

**The Misfits**

 **Prompt:** _Six students, of different stereotypes, are sentenced to Saturday detention which happens to land on a very important day for each of them. While their reasons for being there are up in the air, and they might start off on the wrong foot, they all eventually find out there's more to each person than they thought._

 **A/N:** _So I wrote this chapter twice, and I've decided on my pairings, but I'm going to let you guys figure them out by reading (they're pretty easy to determine). Also, Maya's situation with her dad is different in this installment, and her character is a slightly darker due to that, but not too much._

 _I'm also going to create a tag list, let me know if you want to be added!_

 **Word Count:** 2,661

* * *

 **Part 2- The Essay**

The heater that was running shut off completely leaving the whole room silent. It was the deafening silence that Maya Hart couldn't stand. She needed something. A constant sound to keep her from going insane. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the art literature book she had been reading and her best friend. She really did screw up this time. Her actions got them here, and Riley was just witness, who got caught in the middle of it all.

Why did Maya act the way she did? She never had done anything that stupid before. Maybe it was a cry for help, or just a cry out to her absent dad, who had just decided to leave her and her mom recently. That was an unspoken subject the blonde buried deep into her dungeon of sadness. It still effected her greatly, and it's hard to talk about it, especially to the people who are close to you. Because the ones who care about you in such a way, like Riley did, only lent out sympathy, something Maya didn't want. But she loved her best friend anyway, because she did care so much.

Maya didn't understand why Riley did care so much. Sure they were best friends and they had been since a very young age, but even she had to admit, they are two very different people now. Riley knew exactly who she wanted to be. A professional musician, and had been working her whole life around the violin. Not to mention she was very classy and up with her studies, in order to get the scholarship she wanted. Maya was good with art, but she slacked in school. She could draw and paint, and she wanted to do something with that, but what kind of job could you get, when you're a graffiti artist, who has a hard time paying attention in class, and is sort of addicted to nicotine?

Yeah, smoking. Something she had picked up at the start of all her daddy issues a year ago. And she hated to admit it, but sometimes cigarettes weren't the only thing she smoked. To her, it was a way to tone her quick temper, and a distraction from life. It wasn't always the most appealing thing, and she wasn't a complete pot head, but she did it enough that she maybe had a slight addiction to it. Cigarettes that is. Her best friend didn't necessarily approve of her antics, and she might have mentioned it to her several times, but she did nothing to stop her. Sometimes Maya thought that Riley was attempting reverse psychology on her.

She was taken out of her trance by the clicking of the pen. Anything but that. That sound was worse than the silence. Piercing the air, and as the sound became faster and faster, the blonde's nerves were ticking. Her eyes lightly flickered to the boys sitting towards the back and then looked forward again. Of course it had to be him.

After listening to it for two minutes straight, she smacked her hands on the table. "Stop with the clicking, Friar!" Her head snapped back to him and he raised his eyebrows, knowingly. But he didn't stop, instead he kept going, and she clenched her teeth so hard her lips pursed together. He was doing it intentionally to annoy her and she was about to explode. His green eyes tested her patients, daring her to do something about it. And she did. Up on her feet in less than two seconds, and she was over where Lucas was, ripping the pen out of his hand and breaking it in half with all the strength she could muster and throwing it back at him, ink going everywhere. His expression was shocked, and Zay's was amused.

Maya, who felt satisfied walked back over to her chair and sat down once again. Not long after, she heard his footsteps and a figure appeared right in front of her desk, but he wasn't facing her. He no longer had his letterman jacket on, so he sported a white t-shirt with the front covered in blue ink. She hated that she even considered him as very attractive right now. Not just his body, but his face too, even with the pissed off look. "You just had to break it, didn't you?" He asked.

Shaking her previous thoughts away, she couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had somewhat of an affect on her, even if it was just in his physical appearances alone. He didn't have a great personality, or that she knew of. Then again, she didn't really know him. All she could see and hear was his over obsessed addiction to baseball, and his growing ego. He really did think he was the best, didn't he?

"You should learn not to piss people off," she stated.

Tongue in cheek, he shook his head, glancing down at the liquid that would most likely stain the shirt forever. "Damn my mom is gonna kill me," he muttered under his breath. Maya smirked, but tried not to laugh. He caught her gaze again, and she gave him a full smile. He rolled his eyes, walking off towards the counter where a coffee pot sat, and a tiny sink. He wiped his arms down with a paper towel.

Maya looked at Riley, then down at her book. "Riles," her voice called out softly, and she wasn't sure if the brunette would be responsive, but she could slightly hear the "hmm?" come from beside her and thought that was progress. So maybe she she try a calm route for this conversation. "I'm sorry," nope, she already said that before, and Riley hadn't even acknowledged the plea. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess," she turned in her seat hiking her right leg up so she could wrap her arm around her thigh and ankle, placing her chin on her knee. "Can we talk about this?"

"What's there to talk about, Maya?" Her tone serious and sharp.

The blonde didn't like the way she said her name. She tapped her hand several times on the desk. "No no. Don't Maya me, please," she pouted. "I don't like it when you Maya me." It was normally "Peaches." That was her name for Riley. "How can I fix this?"

The brunette stopped reading and looked at the person sitting next to her. "I don't know, how can you? We're here in detention, on a Saturday. Out of all the Saturdays in the entire year, it had to be this one."

Maya narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. This Saturday? Why was this one important? The blonde blinked. "What—what are you talking about?" That was apparently the wrong question to ask, because Riley no longer looked annoyed, she just looked down right hurt, and that made the blonde feel even more worse about herself than she did before. What was she forgetting?

Her best friend looked away from her, and Maya's heart dropped. "Nothing. Forget about it."

"No. Riley, I made you upset and I want to fix it. Please le—" the door opened and out came Mrs. Knows. Perfect timing, said no one ever. The hag of an old woman disgusted the young girl. She smelt like rotten cheese and bitter perfume so strong, Maya felt the need to go bathe.

"Do I hear talking?" The Librarian asked hesitantly. When nobody spoke, she crossed her arms. "Because I definitely heard talking." Of course she did. Or maybe she was just saying that to say it. Maya really wished she'd go back to watching her tapped recordings of Saturday Night Live.

Farkle coughed. "Yeah, I was just asking," his head turned slightly towards one of the girls sitting behind him, "Maya for a pen."

She shrugged, giving him a sad smile. "Sorry Dude, you're out of luck."

Riley reached into her bag. "I've got one," she stated, and she handed him one, giving him a silent thank you in her expression, although Maya had absolutely no idea why the genius would have taken the blame for the girls.

Mrs. Knows nodded. "Okay, so since some of you are twiddling your thumbs, I've decided to give you all an assignment." The scoffs could be heard around the room. "You're each going to write me an essay," and the groans, "describing to me who you think you are. No less than a thousand words. Maybe in this assignment, you'll learn something, and never put yourselves into a position to be here again. It's due by the end of the day. Yes, Miss Smackle?"

"For the people who have been productive, like me, Riley and," her head turned slightly toward Farkle making a gagging noise, "eeck. Do we have to do the assignment?"

"Everyone is doing the assignment, Isadora. No excuses." She moved back towards her door, but before she walked completely away, she turned to face the students, giving them a mischievous smirk. "Oh, and by the way, if I forgot to mention this to you all earlier, no leaving the building." Her emphasis on the last word confused the group of students. Those were pointless words. "Essays due by the end of the day!" And she closed the door behind her.

* * *

Riley was not only pissed now, but emotional. How could Maya have possibly forgotten? The brunette only talked about the concert several times to her. It was the event she couldn't stop thinking about for the last two months. She tried not to get worked up about it, but that was definitely one hard pill to swallow.

Now they were demanded to do this stupid essay. A dumb essay to tell the Librarian who they think they are. How was it possible to know who they are, only being sixteen years old, with a lot of life left before them? They weren't even out of high school yet, much less holding jobs. Riley might know who she wants to be, but that doesn't mean she's going to be that.

Maya slumped in her seat. "You've got to be kidding me." She slung her head back. "Nice job Friar, Babineaux. Because of you bozo's, we're stuck writing an essay."

"Hey!" Lucas retorted. "How is this our fault?"

Maya pointed to the open, probably unread book in front of her. "You're supposed to look productive in order to not get more homework. Duh." Lucas stood up from his seat and walked over to sit on top of Maya's side of the desk. "You need something Ranger Rick?"

"You know, you're starting to annoy me," Lucas stated. "With your, 'you think you're funny nicknames,' and smart ass comments. It's no wonder you're sitting in detention right now." Riley almost said something but Maya beat her to it. She always did.

"You don't know me, and you don't have any business as to know why I'm here today," she leaned her chair back. "As for me being annoying. You're new to the city. You're away from all of the hoedowns and cow pageants." Maya animated her last words with a fake southern accent and swinging arms. "You're also fun to tease."

Riley didn't think she she should have said that, and she believed Maya realized that too when her eyes closed and her face slightly cringed. Lucas smirked and the brunette guessed that he was going to have some conceded comment fly off the tip of his tongue. "Tease, you say? Is that your way of saying you like me?"

She rolled her eyes. "We're not five, and I don't like you Sundance, so you can get that off your mind right now."

Riley started giggling, and the boy sitting in front of her turned in his seat and his small, amused gleam in his eyes met her own. He seemed to be enjoying the small banter between Maya and Lucas.

"I'm not convinced," Lucas said. "Why else would you tease me?"

Farkle scoffed. "Maya teases everyone." That was true. "If not teasing, she makes sarcastic comments that come off as insults, even when she doesn't mean to. Sorry to burst your bubble there if you thought you were the only one special enough to receive the many nicknames and comments made by Maya Hart."

"She has a nickname for you, doesn't she?" The baseball player said, and Farkle said nothing. Riley smiled and giggled, remembering the name she had given him back in early middle school when he had come to school dressed up in his halloween costume. "You," Lucas pointed to her, "what's the nickname?"

"Dr. Farklestien," she said in mid-giggle.

Farkle sighed harshly. "Riley's is Goodie-Two-Shoes-Matthews." Riley's mouth dropped and she gave Farkle the evil eye. She hated that nickname. Despised it. It made her seem weak when she didn't want to be.

"Goodie-Two-Shoes-Matthews?" Lucas said, eyeing her who had looked away from him. "If you're a goodie, then what brings you to a detention hall? Especially Saturday detention?" Yes, because they all know Saturday detentions are equivalent to one day in school suspension.

Riley averted the gaze by looking around the room. She noticed that Zay had taken a seat closer to everyone, and Smackle had stopped writing, but she hadn't taken her eyes away from the book. The brunette wasn't going to say anything until Maya was, and she didn't think the blonde would talk.

"So really," Zay asked, "none of y'all are going to tell everyone why you're in here?"

Farkle licked his lips. "Why do you care what we did to get in here? We're not asking you what your reason is. Just leave them alone, we all have a paper to write." She was unsure as to why he was trying to redirect the subject matter. It's not like he actually cared, right?

Zay glanced back and forth between him and the girls. "Why did you take the blame for them?" Farkle looked at him, as if to tell him to elaborate.

Lucas agreed raising his eyebrows. "Yeah Genius, why didn't you let them get in trouble for talking?" Riley really wished they would all stop talking.

He shrugged. "I figured if we didn't have a good excuse, and if one person got in trouble, we all would. You never know with this Mrs. Knows." He had point, but Riley didn't believe him.

The kid with the dark skin leaned forward. "Are you sure that's the only reason?"

Riley looked up and instantly met with Farkle's eyes and they held each others stare for a moment before he said, "One hundred percent positive."

Lucas let out a sigh and looked up, as if he was thinking about something. "You know what, I'm going to the gym." He hopped of the desk, and began walking towards the door. Riley thought he was stupid. He was a stupid guy.

"Why? We can't leave the library," she said.

He smiled. "Ah, but we can. As long as we are following the rules, she doesn't care. And her rule was, don't leave the building. The whole entire school is a building. We can leave the library, but we can't walk outside." Riley couldn't believe that he had actually stated something that was considered to be a smart idea. Why, oh why was the universe messing with her? "So, if I am to write an essay describing who I am, why not do it in my element? Come on, Zay." He walked out of the Library.

Zay was hesitant, but next, and then Farkle disappeared too. Riley gave it a thought and knew exactly where she was supposed to go. She rose out of her seat and walked, but before she left, she looked at Maya, and almost said something, but closed her mouth, slightly shaking her head. Now wasn't the time. She could solve this after she found a spare violin.

* * *

 **Preview to next chapter:**

 _"How did you know to find me in here?" She asked, before she realized that was a stupid question._

 _He placed his hand on the smooth black surface. "Just because we're not close friends anymore, doesn't mean I don't know who you are, Riley." He motioned to the open spot next to her. "Mind if I sit?_


	3. Seperation

**Prompt:** _Six students, of different stereotypes, are sentenced to Saturday detention which happens to land on a very important day for each of them. While their reasons for being there are up in the air, and they might start off on the wrong foot, they all eventually find out there's more to each person than they thought._

 **A/N:** _It's a long chapter. I hope you like._

 **Word Count:** 3,693

* * *

 **Part 3- Separation**

Maya considered following her, but she knew that Riley wanted to be alone. She needed time, and the blonde believed that maybe she did too.

She stared at the blank lines on the piece of notebook paper she had gotten out. Who was she? Who was Maya Hart? She didn't know. The essay was stupid. How could a sixteen year old possibly know who they are? They weren't even adults yet, much less with jobs. Who could determine the person they were going to be? She was unsure about how she was going to be able to complete the assignment. She could not do it, but then risk being back in the same position next week.

She could write about herself now? But who wants to read her story? She's a trouble maker, a rebel who tags walls all over the city in the middle of the night to get her message out there, an enforcer. Some people are inspired by her work, and others think she's an insane person. All she desires is to make a difference, but how could the person she is right now make a difference in the world. People don't listen to her, other than her mother, but she's a caring woman who loves her daughter. Maya would have said her father, but he decided to drop off the face of the earth, so he listens to no one.

She thought about a place in the school where she could gain perspective, as well as kill time. "You know," Smackle began speaking, "Mr. Jackson keeps the art room unlocked, even on the weekends." The blonde smirked at the lady genius, who wasn't even looking at her, before gathering her things and heading out the door.

* * *

He dribbled the ball down the court, Zay blocking him from shooting in the process. Two feet from the three pointer line he faked left, turning back around and took a shot at the hoop, thinking he was going to miss. Once the basket was made, a smile broke out on his face and his step-brother shook his head. Two games and he had won both times. Zay had that look, and Lucas knew he was about to go into a conversation he didn't want to talk about. "You don't have to say it, Zay."

"Man, I know I'm your brother and all, and I'm supposed to be on your side about things, but why? Why attempt to get a rise out of people?" He had a point, but Lucas kept quiet. He knew why he was ass to people, but he wasn't ready to admit it aloud. "You do realize that attempting to get a rise out of people is what landed us in here in the first place?" Yeah, he was correct again.

He didn't understand his actions fully. His mother taught him better, and he knew that. He just had a problem speaking before he thought about what he was saying. "Can we not right now?" He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I just want to shoot some hoops."

Zay gave him a long hard look, and Lucas knew that this conversation was far from over, but he wanted to avoid it until later. "Okay, but you can you can shoot without me. I'm going to grab my bag out of the locker room." He made his way down the steps to the underground.

Lucas sighed, and considered dropping the ball to go talk to him, but he stood on the three-pointer line, taking a few more shots before deciding the game was boring without his brother there. He tossed the ball to the side, heading to his locker, but his academic locker where he kept his books. He always kept an extra t-shirt in there just in case he needed one for what ever reasons. He needed to change, and then he would go talk to Zay.

Lucas wasn't sure why he knocked on every blue and red metal door, but he did, as well as fiddle with the locks. Once he found 247, he opened it to search for his shirt, which he found under his pile of books that he should have been taking home with him to study.

He took a glance at the ink covered gift the little blonde gave him earlier. She had some fire, that one. Even he had to swallow hard as her blue eyes had bore so intently in his soul. She probably would have incinerated him earlier, if she had the power to. She might have started to get annoying, but he kind of like the nicknames, even though she was making fun of him. Maya reminded him of someone back in Texas, which made being around her all more difficult.

He looked to both sides of the hall before discarding the shirt he was wearing, and just as he threw it into the locker, he caught sight of blonde hair in his peripheral vision.

* * *

Riley had fiddled with the lock to the band room several times, before she sighed in defeat. She sat on the floor in the chorus room, her back against the door, which linked to the room filled with instruments. What was she supposed to do now?

Her eyes flickered to the piano sitting in the middle of the room. Of course that would be the only instrument in here. With choral students, the piano accompanied them the most during their performances. She stood up and made her way over to sit down on the black bench and opened the case. She took a deep breath as she thought of the keys to her song, and she began to play the simple tune. She knew how to play the piano a little bit, but she wasn't as natural at it as she was at the violin, but she made it work for now.

She lost track of how much time she'd been playing, and writing down different keys on her paper, before she noticed a figure by the door. At first she thought is was Maya, but that changed once he appeared next to the piano. "How did you know to find me in here?" She asked, before she realized that was a stupid question.

He placed his hand on the smooth black surface. "Just because we're not close friends anymore, doesn't mean I don't know who you are, Riley." He motioned to the open spot next to her. "Mind if I sit?" She thought about it, and scooted over slightly for him to take a seat. His eyes examined her paper.

She stared at his face in awe. There was a thought biting at her in the back of her mind, but she couldn't seem to reach it. Instead the next words came out of her mouth without even thinking. "I'm sorry for telling Lucas your nickname."

The corner of his mouth twitched a bit. "It's okay. It was back in middle school. Doesn't mean anything now," he rubbed his finger on one of the black keys. "I shouldn't have brought up Goodie-Two-Shoes, I know you hate that name. That was a dick move."

"That name," she shook her head. "It makes me feel like I'm dumb like I'm so oblivious to the world around me."

"But you're not," she looked at him while he spoke. "Don't get me wrong, you are good, but you're not so good, that you look at everything innocently like a child. If anything, you're more aware to what goes on in the world. Plus you're really smart. Anybody who is up for a scholarship to Juilliard is definitely not considered dumb."

His response shocked her. "You know about that?"

He shrugged. "I know that you have a concert tonight, and two representatives will be attending," he glanced at her. "I'm sorry that Maya forgot."

She looked away. "I can't believe she did. The concert is all I've talked about for the last couple of months. How could it have slipped her mind?"

"Well I don't mean to sound rude, but all of that smoke she's been inhaling might have fogged her memory," he stated. It made sense. Maya had a problem and she was aware of it, but did nothing to solve it, no matter how many times the brunette had mentioned she didn't approve of her coping methods. "I don't get it. How did Maya go from this really happy person to a complete stranger?"

Riley fiddled with the end of her jacket. "When her dad left last year, it was really difficult for her." His eyes widened, telling her that he must not have known about the situation. "She didn't talk to me about it for a while, but she couldn't sleep in her own room for the longest time, so she stayed with me. She went through this mini depression and she found a result in cigarettes and … other drugs …" she sucked in her cheek. She didn't realized how difficult it was to talk about, even though it wasn't her own personal situation. "She also found this group of friends, not close friends, but 'art' buddies that got her into tagging building for fun. I mean, what they're doing is inspiring, because their motives to make the world a better place is what we need to hear and to see, but it's illegal and she could go to jail for that. And I'd hate to see her behind bars just because she's using her incredible talent for those purposes."

Farkle said nothing for a while. The thought that had been tugging at the back of her head finally came to surface. The natural sunlight coming in through the huge windows in front of them brightened his face. The way he moved his jaw created a more defined line. It was his serious expression that took his boyish features and matured them. She could still see the freckles that dotted his nose and a crease on the bridge that looked like glasses had been sitting on his face. But he didn't wear glasses, did he? Nonetheless, Farkle was no longer the geeky boy he was in middle school, he was growing up, and very nicely Riley would say. She was shaken out of her thoughts when he asked her a question. "Um, what?"

He looked like he wanted to smile, and she realized that he might have caught her staring at him oddly. "I asked if that was why you were in here?" She bit her lip. "I know you're not only upset with Maya because she forgot about the concert, but you got in trouble because of her."

Riley looked down and nodded slightly. "I was dropping something off to her after class and she texted me to let me know she was on the fifth floor. I thought that was odd because it was the entrance to the roof, but I went up there anyway and Mr. Baxter, walked up to check on the hydroponic plants he had up there, and saw Maya finishing up her graffiti art and I was right next to her handing her, her bag she had left in my dad's class the previous period. He thought it was a bag full of paint, though it wasn't, and he was going to call the police, but he decided to give us Saturday detention instead, because he liked her art, but thought we still needed to be punished. I told him that I had nothing to do with it, and Maya told him too, once, but he didn't care. I was still there, in the middle of the act."

He shook his head. "Baxter's a dick," his voice was low. He placed both hands on the keys, and began to play a familiar tune. "Doesn't care for people too much. He thinks that science over rules emotions. It's why he's not married, nor does he have kids," his fingers glided across the keys smoothly, and though he wasn't paying attention to what his fingers were doing, he was a very good pianist. "It doesn't matter how smart you are, how talented, or how good, he just doesn't get people."

Her eyes followed his hands on the piano, and her ears followed the melody. "Do you believe that?" She asked. "Do you, as a scientist, believe that science over rules emotions?" She turned to look at him, and realized how close they were sitting. Nose to nose, she could see golden specs in his blue irises. He exhaled a small breath and it hit her face, and she could hear him gulp. She noticed that he stopped playing.

He stared at her as she anticipated his answer. "Absolutely not."

* * *

Walking back into the library, the clock on the checkout desk read 10:07. Zay shook his head. they had only been in here for a couple hours. It was ridiculous. What was more ridiculous was the fact that Mrs. Knows thought she could get all of them to tell her who they thought they were. It was a game.

From what he was told about the old lady, was that she didn't like kids. Or she didn't like this generation of kids. Zay could understand to a point. This generation had a bunch of loons walking around, but that didn't mean that all of them were like that. Everyone has a reason for the way they act. She doesn't know their backstory. She doesn't know what's going on in their lives. How could she? Mrs. Knows just doesn't know.

Zay took a seat behind the pretty smart girl. She had her nose stuck in a calculus book, while three other, non-high school text books were sitting off to the side. She had highlighters and pens scattered everywhere, an advanced calculator and some measuring utensils sticking out of her bag. She also had three notebooks to the side, and one open and in front of her. This girl might have looked unorganized at the moment, but Zay believed she was a structured person.

A thought came to mind and getting up out of his seat, he walked over to sit in front of her. She barely glanced up from her notebook, but he caught a glance of her dark eyes before she went back to calculating formulas. He was right though, her notes were organized and detailed, even color coded and everything.

"Do you always study?" He asked.

Without stopping her writing, she said, "No, I do not always study. I eat and sleep too."

He smirked. "You know what I mean, but I like your sarcasm." He fiddled with the spine of her Humanities book. He wondered if she was taking college classes. He glanced back up and noticed she stopped what she was doing to look at him. For a moment he wished she would have gone back to doing what she was going before, because the way she examined him made him cautious about what to say next.

"No," she stated and he raised his eyebrows. "I know it may seem like I study a lot, because I am the smartest girl in the school, with over a 4.0 GPA, and taking duel-enrollment classes but I'm also very popular. Which means I attend parties, and other social events. How else am I supposed to maintain an image if all I do is study?"

He nodded slightly, trying to understand her. Though he was a jock, he wasn't the most popular, unlike Lucas. He wouldn't know what it's like to maintain an image, because he already had an image, and in the eyes of other people, it wasn't a very good one. "You have a point, but I haven't really seen you around, so I wouldn't know. I'm sort of new to the school. And that comment also sounded bit conceded."

"I'm not conceded. I'm just stating a fact. And yes, you're Zay Babineaux from Austin, Texas. You're Lucas's brother," she noted. That was the first time anyone had referred to him as Lucas's brother. It was usually step-brother, with an emphasis on step. No one knows what happened. They just assume. "You play second base on the Varsity baseball team. You're number is 27."

He shook his head. "How do you know all that?"

She smiled. "I write for the school newspaper, so I've attended all of your games. You're good player."

"You write about sports?" He narrowed his eyebrows. She didn't look like a girl who knew anything about the game.

Isadora shrugged. "I write three different columns. We were short-handed on one of the sports columns and I told Mr. Townes that I would take baseball, because it's the sport that I'm most familiar with. My second cousin Alex played professionally, so my brother and my dad get really into the game around season time. I guess hearing the terminology for so long, I've become familiar with how the game is played."

"Who's your cousin?" The boy asked. Her face looked to the side, and she looked like she was going to regret telling him. So he must have been a pretty big deal. Zay thought about all of the professional baseball players named Alex from New York City, and only one came to mind. "No way," he stated. "Alex, as in Alex Rodriguez? A-Rod? .297 batting average, 2,000 RBIs—"

"696 home runs and 3,000 hits," she nodded, "yes, he's my cousin. I'm assuming you're a fan?"

His mouth dropped. "He played for the Texas Rangers at one point! Lucas and I are huge fans of Alex! He's one of the greatest baseball players of our time!" She leaned back in her seat. His reaction must of been how everyone reacted. He changed the subject. "I think it's pretty cool that you write for the paper."

"I enjoy writing it," she tapped her pen on the table.

He bit the inside of his lip. "You think I'm a good player?"

She nodded. "Yes, you're an excellent player. You're very quick on your feet, and you have good communication skills, especially since Lucas plays shortstop. Plus, you have a good eye on the ball when you bat. It's no wonder Coach has you as a designated hitter sometimes." She studied his expression. "You don't think you're good?"

He shrugged. "Baseball is a big deal in the Friar household. And because I'm apart of their family, it's a lot of pressure. Because I know that I'm not as good as Lucas, and I might not ever be, but I still want to live up to the expectations of a Friar." He rubbed his lip before putting his elbows on the desk. "I love the game and I love playing, it's just not fun when you feel the pressure like that."

Her expression was very hard to read, and he couldn't tell what she was about to say. "Is it okay if I ask you what happened?" Her question sounded critical. His face dropped. "I saw what happened yesterday in the hall. Blaine is a jerk. Though it was wrong of Lucas to punch him in the face, his motives were heroic."

Zay had face a lot of discrimination being a black living with a white family. In Texas, it didn't seem like a big deal, because everyone knew about their situation, and they knew how close Zay was to Lucas's family, prior to what happened. Here in New York, some people thought the situation was odd, and he had received a number of looks. Nothing was said, until this kid name Blaine made a scene in the hall yesterday, throwing out some vulgar words and comments towards Zay and Lucas's direction. Anyone who knew Lucas, knew that he had an aggressive side to him. His temper was short, and he was quick witted. It's what got him kicked out of school for a year back in Austin (Yeah, Lucas was supposed to be a year ahead).

Blaine, whose voice kept getting louder and louder, until the hall had all eyes on the scene. Zay learned that when people get like this, he would just blow them off, knowing that they were attempting to get a rise out him. He told Lucas to let it go, but of course he didn't. He ended up shoving Blaine against the lockers, and eventually punching him in the nose. One of the teachers directed all three boys to the office. Zay thought the kid would be here today, but knowing Lucas had broken his nose, he might have been icing his face somewhere, avoiding to seen.

"My parents died about a year and a half ago," his voice was low. Her expression softened, and conflicted. "My dad was in the Air Force. Flight instructor. He and my mom went out one night to a dinner with some old friends that he was overseas with, and their wives. Lucas and I went out with some friends down the road. They had a bon fire going, music playing, like any normal Friday night. We came home around midnight? Maybe a little after. After seeing those police cars parked outside my house, I don't think I've ever felt that scared. It was late, and my parents were on the main stretch, about five minutes from home when they crashed," the rim of his eyes outlined in tears. He thought to himself that he was not going to cry in front of this really pretty girl.

She shook her head. "You don't have to finish," she said so softly, almost as if she was terrified to hear more. "I'm so sorry, Zay."

"Lucas is closest person I have to a family. They took me in, and now I couldn't be more grateful for them," he concluded.

She nodded, wiping a tear that had fallen down her cheek. "Just remember Zay, you're not a Friar by blood," she smiled slightly. "You don't need to live up to the expectations of a Friar. Set the standard for a Babineaux. Because the one I'm looking at right now is pretty great."

* * *

 **Preview of the next chapter:**

 _"So you just gonna wait for me to put on my shirt before you walk by?" Lucas asked from his locker. She glanced around slightly catching him putting on deodorant from his gym bag._

 _Maya rolled her eyes. "No, I was giving you a moment with your mirror," she teased._

 _She could hear him chuckle, before he appeared around the corner with a coy smirk on his face. "I don't have a mirror."_


	4. Messed Up

**Prompt:** _Six students, of different stereotypes, are sentenced to Saturday detention which happens to land on a very important day for each of them. While their reasons for being there are up in the air, and they might start off on the wrong foot, they all eventually find out there's more to each person than they thought._

 **A/N:** _So I'm not one to be a huge Lucaya fan, but they're growing on me. Tbh, I only ship them in AU's because to me, the show is about friendship, and I just don't see Maya taking Lucas from Riley (though they haven't had any couple moments because writers keep cutting their scenes for some reason—and let's be honest guys, they wouldn't cut all of the Rucas scenes for no reason). But if Maya and Lucas were to be together, it would be a ways down the road. I admit, they have great chemistry, and for this story I paired them together, because I'm a huge Riarkle fan and Zayadora isadorable ;) -see what I did there? Okay, that was super dorky, but whatever._

 **Word Count:** 4,757

* * *

 **Part 4- Messed Up**

She was heading for the art room, because nothing was better than the smell of paint and being able to throw it on a canvas. Therapy, Maya called it. It was her time to zone the world out, and focus on creating. It was the only time she felt at peace, other than being in the presence of her best friend in her bay window, where they poured their hearts out to each other. She still hoped that even after this day was over with they would still be able to do that, even though Riley was upset with her.

Just as she rounded the corner, she immediately stopped, catching a glance at Lucas's bare chest. She slowly backed away, assuming he didn't see her. It wasn't that it was odd seeing a guy shirtless, but it was the setting. They were in the middle of the hallway, where they were normally surrounded by tons of people, and if it were the middle of a school day, he would be dress coded. Plus, she had heard stories. In the last four months that he had been in New York, there was talk about how hot Lucas Friar was. Some girls, felt the need to share their "experiences" with the world. So Maya had already had an opinion about the guy. It didn't matter if he had an effect on her, just a tiny bit.

"So you just gonna wait for me to put on my shirt before you walk by?" Lucas asked from his locker. She glanced around slightly catching him putting on deodorant from his gym bag.

Maya rolled her eyes. "No, I was giving you a moment with your mirror," she teased.

She could hear him chuckle, before he appeared around the corner with a coy smirk on his face. "I don't have a mirror." He looked at her with those intense green eyes.

She looked away trying to focus on something else, but noticed how built he really was. Apart from the white t-shirt he wore eariler, giving his arms some definition, the thought of his whole upper body being defined as well, never came to mind. "So, what room does Maya Hart wander to in this school?" He asked.

"The art room," she stated, walking past him. He followed, closing his locker in the process, sliding a new green shirt over his head, and catching up to her side. "Are you following me?"

"What happens if I say yes?" He questioned.

She considered this. What was he going to do in an art room? Maya didn't like it when people watched her draw. It was an uncomfortable feeling. "Why would you want to? I'm not that interesting. Besides, wouldn't being around me ruin your popularity image?"

He looked around the hall in amusement. "Nobody's here for an image to be ruined."

"But here's the thing, if you did hang out with me for a couple hours, and started to like being friends with me, we all know come Monday morning, you'd be back to your cocky jock friends, ignoring the misfits like me." She stopped in the middle of the hallway to look at him. "Not that I care, but what's the point of being in each others presence for a couple hours, having nonsense conversation if it won't continue?"

His expression threw her off, because he didn't look mischievous or sarcastic, nor did he look cocky. It was inscrutable. "You think that I'm that type of person?" There was an uncomfortable silence between them. "You don't know me. Why judge me when you and I have never had a conversation before?"

"It's not like you've been so willing to talk to me in the halls before," she retorted.

His eyes widened. "So you're going to judge me because I've said nothing to you? That makes sense," the sarcasm was strong in his tone. "What have I ever done to you?"

"You're annoying to me," she couldn't come up with a better excuse and he wasn't buying it. "I know guys like you. Believe me, after a two week thing with Barry Macintosh, I've learned a thing or two." She didn't think she would bring Barry up ever again.

Lucas stared at her slack-jawed. "So you're classifying me as a conceded man whore? Is that what you think I am? A guy with body dysmorphic disorder and who sleeps around a lot because he needs to feel something?" He shook his head, and Maya was surprised at how he described who she thought was his friend. "Maya, I know I can be a bit cocky at times, and I mess around a lot just to get under peoples skin, but I'm not a player, I could honestly care less about how I look all the time, and I'm not one to become friends with someone and completely ditch them just because people didn't approve."

They slowly continued walking and he continued to speak. "If I cared about people judging me for who I hang out with, then Zay and I would have a problem. We both face discrimination because we're family. Granted I probably wouldn't be in detention right now, but I would gladly punch someone in the face again, if it meant sticking up for my brother. I'm sorry that you think all jocks are the same," a look of disappointment flickered across his face, before he turned away from her, heading down the opposite hall from the art room.

She stood in the hallway, dumbfounded and ashamed. How could she have just assumed? Sure there was talk, but what if they were just rumors? Because she'd heard that he was self-centered and arrogant, but what if that was an exaggeration of him being cocky and chivalrous?

Maya was angry. With herself. She hurt Riley, and now she was judging people based on rumors. What has gotten into her? Why was she acting the way she was acting?

She needed to fix this. She needed to fix herself. She sighed, giving herself an attitude check. Knowing that fixing her and Riley would take more time, she glanced down the long hall where the boy from Texas had walked. Time to start something new.

And she ran after Lucas.

* * *

Farkle had no idea what he was doing. When he found the room he was looking for, of course he knew she'd be in there. Anybody with ears could hear her playing the soft melody of the classic song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." He was drawn to the sound, because it was nice and beautiful. It definitely beat out the silence that filled his home, or the constant yelling he used to hear piercing the air throughout the night.

It wasn't because he was drawn to the beautiful brunette playing the music. Okay, that was a lie. There was nobody more alluring to him than Riley Matthews.

They used to be close friends, until his dad took him out of public school and placed him at Einstein Academy for his freshman year. They grew apart, because of their busy schedules. She focused all of her attention on her music, and he attempted to focus on science, but the private school wasn't for him.

He quickly grew out of his turtleneck days, and upgraded his wardrobe to somewhere between nerd chic and teenage heartthrob poster boy. Why? It was about damn time he evolved. He was growing up, not just physically, but emotionally as well. And emotions weren't always something science could relate to. He'd know. Being at EA, there was structure and everything was logical and factual. It wasn't a place where he could try new things, because every day had been the same routine.

So he told his dad he wanted to go back to public school. Of course it took a lot of convincing and after a short talk about his mother, he agreed.

When he returned, he was looked at differently. It was almost like he was unrecognizable. He had made friends with a bunch of different people, but he wasn't in a set group. He floated around, and did his own thing. He had freedom, which was nice compared to the rules he used to have. He just missed the set of friends he had in middle school. Especially Riley.

She was always the first person he'd go to for everything, but after the separation, he watched her blossom into this gorgeous young woman, and thrive in her ability to make music. In some ways, he felt like he'd be a burden on her by interfering in her life. And the last thing he wanted was to bring negativity into it.

Looking at her right now, as she stared back at him with such a longing expression he might've consider the fact that he made a mistake. And that was upsetting, because he was supposed to be a genius. Then again, he was in detention for doing something a genius wouldn't do. Maybe he was normal after all.

Her brown eyes shined in the natural light of the room. Her perfectly tan skin was flawless, even without a lot of makeup. He exhaled slightly and gulped at the closeness of their faces.

He blinked, realizing that she had asked him a question. Did he, as a scientist, believe that science overruled emotions? That was insane, and whoever came up with the idea of that was a prude and should be struck down because of that insinuation. All Farkle did was feel. If emotion was something he couldn't understand, then he wouldn't have been bothered so much by his parents divorce, or care about coming back to Abigail Adams, and he certainly wouldn't be feeling the desire to kiss the girl he used to call his best friend at this moment.

"Absolutely not," he croaked, due to the fact that his nerves were ticking at him. His heart did a little flutter when he saw her quirk the corners of her mouth up, her dimples showing. Her eyes flickered down from his eyes to his lips and she looked back up, her face turning red of embarrassment. Had she thought about kissing him? He looked away too, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks.

She stared at his hands, that were still on the keys of the piano. "So how long have you been playing the piano?"

He rubbed one of the keys with his index finger, pressing down slightly giving off a high pitched sound. "Been playing since I was little," he bit his lip, "but it was never a consistent thing. Not until my parents divorced, and my mom threw herself into her job teaching lessons that she didn't really have much time to spend with me. So, in order to spend time with her and actually be apart of her life, I signed up, though I knew how to play—somewhat—it became a consistent thing that I did everyday." That was the only activity he did in the last two and a half years that he didn't mind repeating. He enjoyed playing, but he mainly did it for his mom. "I'm no professional by any means like you, but I'd like to think I'm decent."

A small giggle departed from her lips. "I can't play piano as well as I can the violin." She placed her fingers on the keys. "I have to say, you really good. You could totally pull off being a pianist." She began to play her the song once again.

He joined her, as she played the lower harmony, and he played the higher key. "Though it's nice to play, I don't think I'd want it as a career."

"What are you considering?"

He shrugged. "These past few years, I've sort of been stuck in deciding what to do with my life. After attending Einstein Academy, I realized how much I didn't like the structure of things. I love science, don't get me wrong, but people were too logical. They didn't make decisions based off of their own opinions, but waited for the facts, and yeah, facts are true, but what if you come across a situation where there are none? Plus, why only have sense, if the best way to live life is to have sensibility as well? You have to use your brain and follow your heart." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Now I have a different outlook on things. Since my parents split, I've had a new sense of freedom. No more schedules. And because of the crater built between all of us, how my mom and dad can't agree on anything, and for the longest time they wanted me to choose sides, I'm old enough now that I was able to tell both of them to screw it. I have my own opinions on things and I don't need to be told what side to take. My dad is more controlling than my mom, but she has her moments too.

"So, now that I've been doing my own thing, I've been reading novels a lot more, spending time at the planetarium, I scour the city to see Broadway shows, and visit the museums. But most of all, I've been taking pictures as I explore. I bought myself a nice camera, and started to snap photos." She looked at him and smiled softly. "Mr. Townes, who runs the school paper and the yearbook, has recruited me for many different events. Mostly academic, or something to do with the arts. I can't do action shots at sports events. I tried that once, and they didn't turn out so good."

"So you knew I was performing tonight because of the paper?" She asked.

He nodded. "When I saw your name under the list of students up for the scholarship, I immediately took up the job." They both stopped playing, because that was the moment her hand barely grazed his own, but it was enough to feel the energy that moved between them. They both stared down, both not bothering to move away from each other.

"Farkle?" She asked. He gave her a slight _'hmm?'_ and she eyes glanced up to meet his. "What happened to us? We were so close back in middle school, and then you went away, and I waited for you to show up at my window, but you never did." Her voice sounded hurt, like she was asking him _why did you stop being my friend?_ And he didn't know exactly what to tell her.

He took this moment to be somewhat bold and hooked his small pinkie with hers. "I don't know. Being at EA, we were so busy all the time. Attending different meetings and going to different events. You began your practice everyday and you were working hard. I guess we grew apart in that time."

"But what about after? When you came back?"

He sighed, feeling angry at himself. "You were doing so good. You had Maya and your violin. You were happy and nothing ever wavered. When I came back, my parents were in the middle of their extremely messy divorce. They were always fighting and I was always getting caught in the middle of it all. I carried a lot of that baggage around, and I was emotional wreck. The last thing that I wanted for anybody, especially you, was to have me and my problems interfere with your life. I didn't want anybody to go through that with me."

Her bottom lip quivered and a grave expression flickered upon her face. She took their hands and she intertwined all of their fingers together. Her thumb ran on top of his own. "You shouldn't have gone through that alone. Nobody should ever go through something like that alone," her voice stated firmly. "Please, if something is ever bothering you, don't hesitate to knock on my window." He nodded, pretty much in a trance. She glanced at the linked hands and smiled slightly. "I always kept it open for you."

That brought him back to reality, and he cocked his head to the side in confusion. "You kept your window open for me?"

She nodded. "You've always been my friend Farkle. That's never changed." He couldn't help himself, with his free arm, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in for a hug.

He caught the door of the band room out of the corner of his eye. "Isn't it about time you practice playing your instrument?"

She bit her lip. "The band room is locked."

So, he might have promised himself he would never do it again, considering it landed him in detention in the first place, but for Riley, he'd do just about anything. "I can get into the band room."

"How?"

* * *

He had attempted to open the door to sit in coaches office, but it was locked. So he leaned his back against the wall. His thoughts were everywhere. Did people really have an opinion about him, just because of stereotype? He was a lot of things, but he'd like to say he wasn't a stereotypical guy. Not like Barry Macintosh. He was a good ball player, better at football more so than baseball, but still good nonetheless. He was also a guy that partied every Friday and Saturday night, drank to his hearts content, and slept around because he didn't believe in relationships.

Lucas was the opposite. If he went out to party, it was to be surrounded by friends, and have a good time. Maybe drink a beer or two, because he wasn't a prude, but he was smart enough to not get himself stuck in a bad situation. He was taught better than that. Now he might not be a virgin, but he hasn't slept with a ton of girls, in fact when he did lose his virginity, it was to his long time girlfriend of a year and a half, Grace Porter back in Texas. She ended up screwing him over after and it was a messy break up. Lucas had felt slightly insecure after that, and was determined to keep up at the gym, and he relished in the satisfaction he received when girls would check him out. Okay, so maybe that's where they could see that he was self-centered.

But he wasn't. Not really. Before everything that happened between him and Grace (in the beginning of their relationship), he was super laid back and though he took care of himself, he wasn't a stickler to go to the gym everyday, nor did he care about how his hair looked, whether he needed a cut or not, and he certainly could care less about the clothes he wore. Then she deemed him as not attractive enough for her, and at first it didn't bother him, because he had some words to share with her, but after taking a long hard look in the mirror, it was time he needed a change.

Unfortunately, nobody in Texas would be able to witness his change, because his dad got transferred to New York before the start of the school year. But the new scene and lifestyle was great compared to life in Texas, even though he did miss his buddies, and he knew Zay did too, but being away from the town his parents died helped him tremendously.

Lucas heard footsteps around the corner, and he knew it had to have been Maya. Sure enough it was. "So you're following me now?"

Expecting a smart ass remark, he was surprised to hear her say words completely unexpected. "I'm sorry." She looked to the floor. "I don't know whats going on with me lately." She shuffled over to the wall beside him, and they both slid down to sit on the cold tile. "I've hurt my best friend who has done nothing but be the only light in my entire life, and now I'm judging people who I don't even know, which goes against everything my parents ever taught me," she looked over at him. "I'm sorry."

Without a scowl on her face, she was beautiful. Her blonde hair was long and wavy and cascaded down over each shoulder. Her eyes were big and deep blue. Her pouty lips were parted just barely. That was the moment he realized that she reminded him nothing of Grace like she did before. He guessed it was because of her sarcasm and attitude, but Maya was more genuine. At least by her sitting down next to him, apologizing for something that could honestly mean nothing, attempting to start a deep conversation was more genuine than what Grace ever did.

"It's okay. I get it. People assume and as much as I hate that word, I know that it can't ever stop," he stated.

Confused, she asked, "you hate the word assume?"

He smirked. "My dad always said to assume was to make and ass out of you and me. When we guess the wrong thing about people we unfortunately make an ass out of ourselves. I'm guilty. I've done it before, in fact I've made assumptions about you and I shouldn't because I don't know if they're true or not."

"Alright, let's lay out all of the cards on the table. What rumors have you heard. You're probably not wrong," she said.

He nodded slightly, agreeing to ask and answer any questions. "Alright, were you the one who spray painted 'feminist revolution' on the fifth floor of the school building?"

"It was supposed to be anonymous. We're the silent majority. Making difference through art and media, but yes. It's what got me and Riley into this mess."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "She helped?"

"Oh no," she shook her head. "Riley's a big feminist, but she wouldn't go to illegal extremes to spread the word. She was dropping my bag off that I left accidentally in her dad's class. I was supposed to be back before the period ended. Between classes was the best time to tag the building, especially at the end of the day, but Mr. Baxter and his dumb hydro-plant collection got us in trouble." She criss-cross her legs together. "So you said you could honestly care less about the way you look?"

He knew what she was asking and Zay was the only person he ever told. "In all honesty I wish didn't like I used to. If I could take back the decisions I made in the past, I would. Grace would have never screwed me over and took something important from me and helped create the insecurity that I have." Maybe opening up to someone he didn't know, especially a girl who made an assumption about him, would make him easier to relate to and maybe he would be looked at differently. "At the end of last year, I was dating this girl that was a year older than me. We had dated for a year and a half. In the beginning, I felt like I didn't have to worry about the way I look as much. Of course I took care of myself and looked nice for her, but I wasn't the obsessive type to work on my hair for 20 minutes straight every day, make sure I had a clean shave, or my style was up to date. Then she takes something from me, breaks up with me the next day, and in front of all of her friends, she tells me that I wasn't attractive enough for her." That really hurt and was embarrassing.

Maya looked stunned, but he continued to talk. "Probably the most humiliating moment in my life. And at first I was angry. I said some words to her that I probably shouldn't have said, and I moved on, even though it was really hard, because we were together for over a year, and before I asked her out, we were really good friends. Besides Zay, she became my best friend. I told her everything. I thought I was in love with her. And she played me like a fiddle. I received some looks for a week after we broke up and was thankful it was the last week of school. Then one night I got out of the shower and looked at my self in the mirror. I was never fat, but I did have bit more meat on me and my face was filled out more. I didn't think I would be as insecure about myself as I actually was. I was the best ball player on my team, I was well liked. Maybe more well liked before I was dating Grace. Being around her every single day, I developed my tongue for sarcasm and being a smart ass." His head dropped between his knees. "Grace messed me up."

Shaking her head she said, "What a bitch. Excuse my french, but that's messed up. Why date someone for that long and then tell them they're not attractive enough to be in a relationship with that person? Doesn't that mean she used you?"

"Yup," he pursed his lips. "She used me and molded me into the person she wanted me to be. And I was blind, because I thought I was in love."

"Does it still hurt?"

He nodded. "It's hard sometimes, and it's hard to change. I'm sorry that I was antagonizing you earlier. I shouldn't act the way I do, it's just a habit." Maya smiled slightly at him and he looked at her confused. "What?"

"I don't believe it would be hard for you to change," she said.

"Why's that?"

She licked her lips. "Because, stereotypical people don't apologize for the way the act. You didn't have to say you're sorry, but you did, and it's okay. I was wrong. You're not the person I thought you were."

He turned to face her. "So what about you?"

"What do you want to know?" She turned to face him. "I'm not an interesting person."

Lucas smirked. "You said that earlier, but I don't believe it. How could someone who tags buildings all over the city with incredible art work, and a drive to make a difference in the world not be interesting?"

There was a sparkle in her eyes before she sucked her lower lip in. "Yeah, also a girl who's been abandoned by her father, her mother works all the time, and sometimes comes home with random guys, who stay for a couple days, and sometimes develop an interest in me and try something, so I stay away, most of the time crashing beside Riley because I know that she will always be there for me, no matter what." She looked down in her lap. "Oh, and I also have a smoking problem."

"So that's why people reference you as—"

She nodded. "The pot head with daddy issues."

There was silence for a few moments. "Do you know why he left?"

She shrugged. "I just found out recently that he's with another woman, and they're having a baby. Apparently he got being a dad wrong the first time so he's starting over," she rolled her eyes and Lucas had the feeling in the pit of his stomach. The feeling of wanting to track him down and beat his ass. "I don't understand. What did I do wrong? Most of my life, I've been a daddy's girl, and now . . . I've never been so lost. Him leaving messed both me an my mom up. I guess we have something in common after all."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Maya. In all honesty, it's his loss."

Her eyes were glassy, but she looked over with a grateful expression. "So, you're starting to like me? You think you and I would be friends?" She teased.

He chuckled. "You're pretty cool Hart. From the moment we sat down here, I considered us friends." She was about to make a comment but he cut her off. "And before you ask, I don't care about my image. Honestly, I want to change. And I also want to have friends who I like being around and want to hang out with, instead of a crowd that I don't get along with and people expect me to be around."

"Real people, you mean?" She smiled, and for once he stopped thinking about how confused Grace made him feel, because he was staring at someone far more better.

"Yeah, real people."

* * *

 **A/N:** _I'm sorry there was no Zayadora in this chapter. They will be in next chapter definitely. Once I started writing this, I had no idea how long it was going to be._

* * *

 **Preview to next chapter:**

 _Mrs. Knows had appeared from her office. Smackle had looked around the room, realizing she and Zay were the only ones sitting at the desks. "Where are the others?"_


	5. The Revolutionist

**Prompt:** _Six students, of different stereotypes, are sentenced to Saturday detention which happens to land on a very important day for each of them. While their reasons for being there are up in the air, and they might start off on the wrong foot, they all eventually find out there's more to each person than they thought._

 **A/N:** _Sorry this took me so long to post. I was without a computer for a few days._

 **Word Count:** 3,673

* * *

 **Part 5: The Revolutionist**

Isadora Smackle was finding it hard to concentrate, and that was odd. Because normally she was the one to block out the world so easily and focus on what was in front of her. Her dark eyes seemed to keep glancing up at the boy sitting across from her. Her heart went out to all the pain and confusion and loss he must have been feeling. Smackle knew loss. It pained her everyday knowing that she would never see her older brother again. She had a younger brother, but he was far too little to remember Arian. He died when the little tyke was three and now he was nine. Time had passed, but it still didn't make it any easier for her.

Ari was a Military man in the Navy. She had heard the stories, over and over again. He had decided to not pursue baseball as a full time career like Alex did, but chose to serve his country. And he enjoyed exploring the sea. She liked to believe that she had fell in love with Marine Biology because of him. Each time he would come home, he would bring something else back to her, weather it be shells, rocks, or trinkets. He was a natural when it came to the ocean, which is why he chose the Navy as his career. He was her inspiration and biggest influence as a big brother. He was also her hardest subject, memory and emotion.

She had some issues. Emotional ones. They developed after Ari died. She closed herself off from the world, almost becoming mute. It took her a long time to process what was going on, and a long time to speak again. It was then hard for her to trigger different emotions, because she was afriad. She threw herself into facts and less opinions. Her therapist believed it was because her parents became neglectful because of the pain and loss. She somewhat agreed, knowing that they raised a kid completely and supporting his decision to enlist himself into a career that lost him at sea. Yes. Lost. That was the worst part. The part of the story that caused her so much confusion and hurt. There was no mourning that. No closure in knowing if he had truly died. Not that it was a terrible career choice, but what were you supposed to think when your son dies.

As a ten year old, she had wishes that he would show up at home one day, walk in and say, "I'm home, sorry it took so long. I was stranded on an island and couldn't find my way off soon enough." Because if anyone could survive in the wilderness for that long, she beloved Ari could. She beloved he could do anything. But that's because he was her hero.

So she could relate to Zay, but she wasn't sure if she would open up to him about it. She should feel like it would be easy, because if he was willing to open up, she should too.

She glanced up and found him already looking at her. She blushed, because it didn't escape her mind that he was an attractive guy. And having someone good-looking stare at her made her stomach flutter. She bit the inside of her lip as she continued to write on her paper, but the information wasn't sticking. She wanted to talk to him more but she didn't know how to start a conversation with him. Her form of communication was writing. And she had more to say paper to pen. Writing for the school news paper wasn't the only thing she did. She had a website, where she wrote all kinds of different things and posted photos. She had come out of her shell in the last few years, but bring up a subject like Ari, made her shut down.

"You look like you're deep in thought there Izzy?" Her eyes widen for a moment. "Is it okay if I call you that?" Nobody has called her Izzy in a long time. Everyone knew her as the one and only Smackle. She like how his voice called her that though.

She nodded. "That's okay," her voice light and sweet. "I'm just thinking. I always do that." She giggles nervously. "It's what a genius like me does." Why did she say that? She looked away and to the side rolling her eyes, scolding herself.

Zay licked his lips and smiled amusingly. "You okay?"

Deciding not to trust her mouth, she nodded and smiled slightly. Her eyes finding her paper once more. _What is wrong with you Smackle? He is just a nice, good-looking guy. It's not like you haven't talked to one before._ Her mind screamed that there was something different about him though. He wasn't like just anyone and he had already proven that in less than a thirty minute conversation with her.

She looked back up to him, and his eyes were down searching through one of her small collection of books she had stacked on the table. It was her non-school reading book that she carried with her everywhere, just in case she was in the mood for nothing else. It was in fact one of her favorite books, even if it was cheesy.

He flipped through the first few pages and smiled. "This great movie," he said.

She actually laughed, which is something that people didn't get the pleasure of witnessing often. "You are fan of The Notebook?"

He nodded putting his hand up, waving it off jokingly. "Yes, I am. I've never read the book, but the movie is definitely one of my favorites." She giggled slightly. "Hey love never dies." Even he chuckled at that one.

"I liked the movie too, but the book is better. Books are always better than the movie, but I believe that Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling did the movie justice. But I cried when reading the book, a little less when I watched the film. I guess words just speak to me." She remembered the first time ever reading the story. It happened every time she read a book. She wished she could wipe her memory and read the story over again and so she could anticipate what was going to happen next. The first time was always her favorite time.

"It's how the author writes the words though. How they write in the characters that you can't help but fall in love with and something tragic happens to them, or something great happens and they hit you right in the feels." He pounded his heart.

She glanced down at the other few books in her bag. "I like to read stories that go in depth. That sometimes people don't understand fully, but you can make sense of in your own way." She bit her bottom lip, taking a deep breath.

"You're one of those philosophical people, aren't you?"

She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. "I wouldn't say talking with people face-to-face, but maybe in my writing. Being able to write down the words to say makes it easier to express my thoughts."

"You find it hard to express your thoughts face-to-face?" He seemed to have a hard time believe if her. She didn't blame him. She herself was complicated to understand. The desperate want to express her feelings in person but afraid of attached and losing them.

She was thinking about how to comment to that, but the words never came to her. Hearing the sound of a door opening to close, drifted her away from thinking. Mrs. Knows had appeared from her office. Smackle had looked around the room realizing she and Zay were the only ones sitting at the desks."Where are the others?"

The genius's eyes widened, and just as she was about to open her mouth, the boy reached over to grab her hand stopping her from speaking and her heart nearly dropped as well. As he spoke, she didn't hear a word he had said, because she was taking in the feeling of his calloused hand on hers.

* * *

He watched her as she played the instrument with such grace and eloquence. Farkle marveled at how beautiful she was as she moved side to side while strumming. Her expression was soft when the sound carried smoothly, and then full of intensity when there was a sharp cord produced. She was great too. The song was so well played, he found himself wanting to move with her. On the ending note he smiled opening his eyes once more to find her staring at him with a hopeful look.

"I could listen to you play all day long," he stated. "There's no way they can't give you that scholarship."

Riley smiled and the room instantly lit up. "You think so?" He nodded in confirmation. "I think that was the best I've played in a while. For the last few weeks, I've been struggling a bit."

"You're probably just feeling the pressure, and the concert is in less than eight hours now," he stated glancing at his watch. She immediately showed a look of panic and he approached her placing each hand on the side of her arms. "But you are going to do great! If you get nervous, just look for me."

She took a breath feeling slightly relived, but still shared a nerved gazed. "Thank you, Farkle. Thank you for opening the band room. I'm sorry that you had to pick the lock to get in."

He shrugged. "It's nothing. Not like it's my first time picking a lock." He scratched the back of his neck.

Studying his face, she crossed her arms. "Is that why you're in here?"

"Yeah, I left my portfolio in the media room, and Mrs. Harris had the door locked, and I didn't realize she was coming back to her room, and I needed to get that folder, so I picked the lock. I also didn't know that my portfolio had landed on her desk, with the computer file open to the midterm grade book." His shoulders dropped. "Mr. Casey who was next door in the yearbook room walked in from his office and found me standing over the desk. I had tried to explain that I wasn't in there to look at the grades, only to get my portfolio that was super important for me to have this weekend, but like all teachers, he had to follow protocol and all that, only because it was mid-term grades that were at stake. I could have been expelled for that, but he only gave me Saturday detention, because he could get in trouble if he only gave me after school detention."

He sat down one of the chairs and she took a seat right next to him, placing the violin to the side carefully. "I guess we're both in here on default." He agreed, lightly bumping her leg. "I wonder why the others are in here."

Farkle smirked. "Well Zay is in the same boat as us. He's in here only because he was the subject of why Lucas broke Blaine's nose."

Her mouth dropped. "That's why Blaine was crying in the office with an ice pack stuck to his face?" She tried not to laugh, but he could tell it was difficult for her. "Yikes, what he say to make Lucas deck him? Aren't they supposed to be friends?"

"I heard he said something about Zay's parents. Asking him in a vulgar manner of why he was living with Lucas, or making up scenarios of their own. Sage White told me she was ready to tackle him herself. It was terrible. Apparently Lucas told him to shut up first, and Zay held him back, but he just kept going on and Lucas leaned in and decked him." He shook his head in disbelief. Lucas gets more flack as being labeled as a conceited, egotistical guy, but Farkle couldn't see it. Especially after hearing what he did. He defended his best friend, his brother. People who are full of themselves wouldn't put themselves into situations like that.

"Why all the fuss about Zay living with Lucas? In this day and age, it's common to have interracial families, and the LBGTQ is rising. If that's being accepted by people, which is a huge deal, then why pick on a guy who is living with Lucas for reasons that don't concern us? Zay could be dealing with something far worse than we realize."

He didn't understand what was wrong, but whatever Zay was going through, he hid it well. It was hidden all behind a comedic smile. "We should head back to the library. Mrs. Knows has probably confronted Smackle about us."

She nodded. "You're probably right. Why do you think Smackle is here?"

"You know, that's a good question. I have absolutely no idea." He really didn't. They didn't associate with each other. People think they would. Both smart, popular, but she was more so than him. He didn't have a problem with her. In fact, they used to be close as kids, but after time, their parents turned them against one another, and they started competing in everything.

Then he stopped caring about what his parents think, and he began to let her win. Farkle admitted he was still smarter to himself, but that was because he purposely slacked off. He was tired of exceeding his parents expectations. It's what drove a wedge in their relationship.

He and Riley stood up. "You don't like each other do you?"

"It's not that. I mean I don't have a problem with her. I never have, but her parents and my parents were persistent on us competing against each other, in everything. She got into it more so in middle school, though she had a drive to. I stopped caring what my parents thought when they were going through that terrible phase of their relationship." He shook his head. "I guess Smackle just believes we're still on bad terms with one another."

They moved to leave the band room, locking it back up in the process. "Are we on good terms?" She asked, with a hopeful expression etched upon her face. How could he say no to her? Not like he was going to, but when she gave him that look, he had the desire to give her everything she ever wanted.

Of course they were on good terms, but he din't want to come off as just friendly, because he was not about to put himself in the friend zone. So he let his mind wander for a minute, before reaching down to lightly squeeze her hand. "I think we're on more than just good terms."

She smiled brightly and Farkle swore he saw the universe in her eyes.

* * *

Maya chided herself for being way too judgmental. She took back everything she ever said about anyone, because it seemed as if she was looking at the world in a completely different way. Now how could talking to this guy make her believe this? Because he was the complete opposite of who she thought he was, and that scared her. Why? Because not only did his physical appearance have an effect on her, she was beginning to see his personality show, and she like it.

He was easy to talk to and he surprised her when he shared a personal experience with her that most people probably wouldn't talk about. She had the sudden want to punch Grace in the face, knowing that Lucas being a guy, could get in trouble for laying a hand on a her, but that didn't mean Maya couldn't. How could someone date a person for a whole year, sleep with them, then tell them they aren't attractive enough or good enough to date them anymore, especially in front of people. Maya honestly didn't believe Lucas wasn't attractive enough, because . . . she looked to the side over at him as they were walking down the hall . . . he was far from the opposite.

They approached the door to the art room, and they entered. She could smell paint and oils and felt completely at home. She hadn't decided until now if she was going to create. The essay was deemed as a stupid assignment. What did she know?

Her thoughts were interrupted as her companion began to speak. "So, you gonna paint anything?" He asked, leaning to the side of the door frame, crossing his arms.

She shook her head. "I don't need to paint anything to write the essay, because I'm not going to tell her who I am. Because the me now, isn't the me I want to be. She wants us to write the essay to laugh at us. In her mind, she sees us how she wants to see us. But I'm going to tell her about the person I want to be."

"Which is?" Lucas raised his eyebrows, interested in what she had to say.

Maya turned to face him completely. "I want to be a good person, a good friend, eventually a good girlfriend, wife, and mother. I want to have a different fate then my own mother, and get over the fact that my father left, because I'm grateful to have a second father in Mr. Matthews. I want to graduate with decent grades, go to school and get an education, and be the first in my family to finish a bachelors program in college." She looked down at the ground, studying the dots creating different shapes, before glancing back up at him, looking him in the eye. "And most of all, if I could do anything continuously throughout my entire life is this: I want to be the change I want to see in the world. I'm not just going around buildings to deface them, I'm trying to get the word out, because maybe someone will listen. They don't have to know who I am in order to change the way they see the world, and if they already agree with me, then maybe my rebelliousness will drive them to create and make a difference of their own. Because all it takes is just one person to speak, and if that pins me as a rebel who only vandalizes things, who cares." She shrugs. "I'm not going to stop voicing my opinion, just because a couple people think my work is tagged for no reason, because that's not how others see it."

The expression he held was complete and udder admiration. But her rant was not over just yet. "Every time I tag a building, it's in the middle of the night, and when I'm done, and it's morning, and people are starting to walk by, I see people stare at it. Not only because it's new, but they are deciding whether or not they should agree or disagree with what I did. Some are prudes who, more in line with the rules, but I've seen a lot of open minded people. One person who was standing right by me as I was watching everyone, said 'who ever did this, should know that they are inspiring and they should continue to make the world see what's real.' That's what any artist strives to do. That's how they want people to respond. That person. They knew it was me. They could still see the faded paint on my hands, and they told me to keep up the good work. I had never felt more at peace with what I was doing until that moment."

He stared at her for a while, as she anticipated his next comment. "I don't think I've ever been more impressed by anyone than I been in this exact moment." He shook his head in disbelief. "You're a revolutionist, in not just politics, but in other subjects too. Are you the artist who created that huge sign in Washington Square Park?" She nodded. "And the one on Grove Street in Greenwich Village?" Another nod. "You're art is a pattern. There's also that cafe on Perry and 7th."

"That's the only one that wasn't vandalism." She added. "Riley's mom, Topanga owns that cafe. I created a piece for her, and I added a little bit of my own spin to it. There are a few in Chelsea, a few in Battery Park, one on the NYU Campus, a couple underground, and I also did a small one at the theatre in Central Park. All of them have similar messages, and some are answers to other peoples pieces."

He smiled softly and her stomach began to twist and turn excitedly. She gulped when he slowly began walking towards her. "Never stop looking at the world the way you do. You are inspiring, and you make me want to see everything through your eyes. I was wrong about you. You're a pretty incredible person."

She bit her bottom lip, and dared herself not to beam at him, but she couldn't help it. "Thank you, Lucas. You're a pretty amazing yourself."

They stared at each other for a minute and she had the slight temptation to stand on her tippy toes to kiss him, but she held herself back. After there had been enough silence, he coughed before asking. "So, what do you think the others are doing?"

"Smackle is probably still in the library, Farkle and Zay I'm not entirely sure, but Riley definitely went to the band room. She has a super important concert coming up—" she blinked and her heart nearly stopped for a moment. "Quick, what's today's date?"

He narrowed his eyebrows, thinking before he said, "December 15."

"Shit," she stated. "I have to find Riley." No wonder her best friend was so pissed. No wonder she looked hurt earlier. Maya could blame her best friend for probably wanting to kill her. Her feet left the room before she could tell him what was going on.

* * *

 **A/N:** _I feel like I've been getting into depth for the Lucaya scenes, which is interesting for me. I think I'm going to have two more parts, and then I'm done with this story._

* * *

 **Preview to next chapter:**

 _Riley heard her voice before she could even see her, and she wished she could tell her to be quiet. "Riley," Maya said, appearing from the door, with Lucas at her tail. "I need to talk to you." The blonde stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Mrs. Knows staring with a stern look on her face. They were in so much trouble._


	6. Risk

**Prompt:** _Six students, of different stereotypes, are sentenced to Saturday detention which happens to land on a very important day for each of them. While their reasons for being there are up in the air, and they might start off on the wrong foot, they all eventually find out there's more to each person than they thought._

 **A/N:** _Okay, it's been a month and a half. I know. That's a long break. But here is the next chapter! I wrote this chapter as third person omniscient (for those who don't know what that means - it is when the POV doesn't stay in just one characters head). There will either be one more chapter or two. Depends on how much I write._

 **Word Count:** 5k +

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Risk**

Riley and Farkle walked slowly back to the library, not holding hands, but every now and then brushing against each other ever so slightly to make their heart rates pick up in pace. It was a comfortable silence that both wanted to fill with words they couldn't find. There was something here, and they both knew it. Had it always been there though? Riley was unsure. They used to be so close as friends when they were in middle school, she wasn't thinking about feelings like these. Feelings like these . . . she bit her lip, knowing that her feeling like this could possibly be a bad thing.

Farkle could disagree, knowing he's always had a soft spot for the girl walking next to him. He always felt something for her, even if he didn't know what the feeling was, but it was more than just a "friend" feeling. He shoved everything to the side when his parents were having problems. But he should've gone to her, knowing deep down that no matter where they were in life, she would have helped him in some way. His eyes glanced over at her, and she seemed to be deep in thought herself. Was this feeling real? They had a conversation today for the first time in two and a half years. How would he know for sure?

Just as they approached the door, Farkle stopped but Riley wasn't paying attention, other than looking at the floor in concentration. The genius grabbed her hand to pull her away from the wall she was about to walk into. Because of her tall stature and clumsiness, she lost her balance with the tug, and fell right into his arms. Her eyes caught his own and Farkle could have sworn he saw the whole universe in them. And he knew. He had feelings for her, and they were real.

Riley felt her heart leap, and she wasn't sure if it was because she almost ran into a wall, tripped over her own feet, or the fact that her face was inches from Farkle's and she could feel his heart beating as quickly as hers was. Or was that just her own? He was so close, she could feel the warmth of his breath hit her face and looking into his eyes she had the desire to lift herself on her tippy toes to . . . the thought was interrupted as she felt movement on her hip and realized that Farkle was gripping her waist to make sure she was stable enough to stand up straight again.

She pulled away slowly, both of them instantly missing the connection. Riley adjusted herself and Farkle stood there, not wanting to return to everyone, but he waited for the brunette to look at him and smile before opening the door like a gentleman. She lightly bumped into him as she walk past and he gave her a half-smile, and her cheeks colored to a faint pink.

All the happiness fell from Riley's expression upon seeing Mrs. Knows standing in front of Zay who was in the way of Isadora's desk. She wore a hard look, with her arms crossed, and foot tapping the ground. Farkle bumped into Riley and looked up, understanding why she stopped. The door shut behind them and the three occupants looked over.

The Librarian advanced on them. Riley backed up into Farkle out of fear. He was a wall and didn't move. As if he was frozen to the ground. He's been yelled at several times before. He was ready for the screech. But there was none. She stopped. Five feet from them and she stopped. "And just where did you run off to?"

Just before they both could respond, Farkle heard a name being called. And it wasn't coming from inside the Library. Riley heard her voice before she could even see her, and she wished she could tell her to be quiet. "Riley," Maya said, appearing from the door, with Lucas at her tail. "I need to talk to you." The blonde stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Mrs. Knows staring with a stern look on her face. They were in so much trouble.

"Ah, I see we all went for a little outing, did we?" Nobody was even tempted to say a word. Taking a chance at getting another Saturday detention just by saying the wrong thing was not worth it. "So we have a law breaker, a fighter, a cheater, and a sidekick," she glanced at the unknown faces of the kids. "Yes, I know why you are all in here today."

Lucas stepped forward. "But that's not us."

"But it is," she stated. "And you all are on road to having another Saturday detention. Do you know how to follow the rules?"

"We were though. You said to not leave the building and the whole school is a building. You gave us an assignment that couldn't be researched. How are we supposed to know who we are when we haven't even graduated high school? Or decided what we want to do for the rest of our lives? If you must know, I went to the gym. Being in my element helps me think. That's where we all were. In our our element." Lucas looked at the blonde standing in front of him. She hadn't been looking at him directly, but being discreet, only taking glances every so often. "But if you are going to punish anyone for walking out of the library, let it be just me. I was the first to walk out."

Maya's eyes met his own and she tugged his arm back. "No, we all walked out, but we weren't doing anything wrong. Please Mrs. Knows, Riley has a very important concert tonight. She's on the list for a potential scholarship to Juilliard. She had no part in what I was doing, and I'm the one who got us in trouble. She would never risk her spot for the school." Riley's heart soared, knowing that her best friend remembered about one of the most important moments of her life.

"Yeah," Farkle stated, "Riley was practicing her violin in the band room. As for me, I was heading to the science hall when I realized that it was the only building that was apart from the whole school itself, so I followed the music. Riley and I sat talking for a bit and I'm sure Maya was in the art room."

She nodded. "Yes. I didn't even pick up a paint brush though."

"You're saving your next artistic installment for a building somewhere else in the city?" The Librarian questioned.

The blonde sighed. "Look, what I do outside of the school is my business and no one else's. What I put on the school building was wrong." She dropped her head, and Riley sensed that she was hiding something. "But nothing happened in the halls nor the classrooms. You can even check the security footage."

Farkle's eyes widened. If she see's me picking the lock, I'm screwed. Riley looked back at him with a guilty expression. Oh, no she feels bad that I did that for her. I was worth it though. She needed to practice. What's another Saturday detention? He reached forward, only because she was still standing so close to him, and he lightly squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"And what about PDA?" asked Mrs. Knows. Farkle and Riley quickly let go of each others hand. "I noticed how close you two walked in next to each other." She pointed at the two.

Maya raised an eyebrow at their slight uncomfortableness. Farkle coughed, "We only hugged. That's it."

The old lady cackled. "Mr. Minkus, PDA as in the PDA that should be behind closed doors of your own home. Hugs, holding hands, a kiss, that doesn't bother me. That's what I see out of the people who walk in and out every day." She looked at Lucas and Maya. "What about you two?"

They shook their heads. Lucas looked at the blonde. "We had a conversation. No PDA." Maybe he wouldn't have to mention the fact that he was shirtless at one point, only to change, but if she checked, she would know that it was in no form of inappropriateness.

It was silent for a few moments while they waited for the inevitable answer. "Well, you've inched around my rules. You did not leave the building, so I can't necessarily punish you for that. For now, stay in here please. I'm sure you are able to find your quiet spot somewhere in here." She looked down at her huge watch on her arm. "Right now though, it's lunch time. Eat up."

They all scrambled for their lunches, while Mrs. Knows clacked her heels back to her office. Once the door was shut, Riley nearly tackled Maya in a hug, which wasn't hard to do because of their height difference. Maya wrapped her arms around the brunettes frame. "Oh Pumpkin, I'm sorry that I didn't realize your concert was tonight earlier. I had the dates mixed up, and I totally thought Christmas was two weeks from now." She squeezed her tight. "And I'm so sorry about getting you into trouble with me." Her grip loosened. "I know you don't agree with what I do, but I should have acted smarter."

Riley pulled away and looked at her best friend. "Don't agree? Of course I agree with what you do. I support every single one of your pieces. I just wish tagging buildings wasn't illegal sometimes. I just don't want you to get in trouble with the law." She grabbed her best friends hand. "Because if that happened, then you wouldn't be able to sit in the bay window with me ever again. And I would be visiting you in jail."

Maya's expression was grim. "I know. I should have been more careful too." She looked at Farkle, "So Freckle, you've decided to come out of your little cocoon, and join us once again."

The genius smirked. "I made a mistake." He turned his seat around to join the girls table. "I, Farkle "The Genius" Minkus made a mistake. I should have come to you both earlier. I'm sorry."

Maya waved the others over, and Riley moved her chair over to the side where Farkle was sitting. "That's okay. You figured yourself out by doing that." Zay sat to their left. "You realized that maybe science isn't the only thing out there for you. You find enjoyment out of other things."

As Smackle got seated on Farkle's other side, she looked at him in a concerning manner, "You're not into science anymore?"

Farkle shrugged, taking out his thermos of soup. "I still love the subject, but I have other hobbies. EA wasn't for me, which is why I returned. It wasn't because I wasn't smart enough, but the fact that I wasn't all bout the in depth structure. I liked being able to have structure here, but mostly conversations with real people. I felt EA was filled with too many robots. I like the fact that I'm now able to have my own opinion and feel freely, without having to think logically about everything."

"Oh," she stated. "I was going to continue at EA, but my parents could not afford for both me and my little brother Josiah to attend after a while, and so I gave up my spot so Joey could have an education there. By the time my parents were able to afford it again, I had my place here and the clubs I was invested in. I can't leave or don't want to leave."

"Smackle," Farkle said, "I hope you know that I'm not in competition with you anymore. That stopped a long time ago."

The lady genius was smart enough to figure that out. "I know. I just use the concept more often because it keeps me distracted. Focused."

Riley always wondered why Smackle was so tense and logical. She had thought that maybe she had an issue, but she wasn't going to say that aloud. Farkle looked at Isadora sympathetically. "You know, it's okay to talk about him."

The lady genius sighed shakily. "I know, but I haven't talked about him in three years." She looked at Zay. "How do you do it? How are you so together, knowing that both of your parents are gone?" For the first time, Maya saw Isadora Smackle's eyes become glassy with tears, and she was afraid she, herself would start to cry too. "Losing my older brother was the hardest thing that has ever happened to me. We lost him when I was ten and I'm still not over it. It's why I try not to feel, I'd rather be logical, I'd rather chose not to care in order to not feel that loss ever again."

"Ari," Riley remembered going to his memorial when she was ten. Maya and Farkle were both there too.

Farkle nodded. "You're brother was a good man, Smack. You should be proud to tell the world who he was."

Zay who had taken a seat at the end of the table looked down at his food. "It took me a while to get over it. I was a mess for a while, and it still gets to me, sometimes. But I was loved. I had a brother in Lucas, second family in his parents. Laurel might be a pain in my ass sometimes, but she's been a great older sister to me. Being surrounded by people who care about me, made up for what I lost, but they never let me forget who my parents were. I just find it a shame that my dad, who served as many years as he did flying planes in active war zones, dies in a car accident, because of a drunk driver. But I know that they're in a better place. I had to move on. I couldn't allow myself to be stuck in the past, because that's not what they would have wanted for me. They would want me to remember them as they were and continue on with my life." He reached for her hand underneath the table. "Izzy, I didn't know your brother, but I know he wouldn't want you to dwell on the past. I'm sure he knew you loved him, but he would want you to move forward and he wouldn't want you to not feel either. You should be happy, and willing to use these emotions we were given. There's a reason why we have them."

Farkle nodded, looking at Riley. "Exactly. Science doesn't overrule emotions. When it comes to family, friends, and romantic interests, we should be able to follow our hearts and use our brains at the same time."

Riley smiled and looked towards Maya, who was still making assumptions about what was going on between her best friend and the boy genius. She really wanted to talk to her best friend, but right now wasn't the right time. Just before she was about to take a bite out of the tuna melt her mom made her, he stomach growled. Her eyes looked down. "Oh you could have waited five more seconds," she exclaimed.

Lucas chuckled. "Someone hungry?"

Maya shrugged. "Yes, clearly my stomach is impatient and had to remind me that it was time to eat."

Farkle, who was taking the spoon out of his mouth smirked at her. "Maybe your stomach wouldn't be begging you for food if you ate breakfast everyday." Maya looked at him oddly. "Just because we haven't hung out in years doesn't mean I don't know that you still skip breakfast every morning to make your way over to Riley's and walk to school with her. Maybe sometimes Mrs. Matthews offers you food, but you deny, telling her you already ate with your parents, even if you hadn't."

Zay blinked. "What, do you stalk them?"

"No, I used to hang out with them every single day in middle school. It was her routine. Mrs. Topanga would normally make me eat with them when I would show up in the morning." Farkle glanced at Riley. "Your mom thought I needed to eat more, didn't she?"

Riley giggled. "I don't think she would admit it, but she wouldn't think that now. She hasn't seen you in a long time."

His eyes grew sad and he fiddled with the ends of her fraying cardigan. "Maybe it was time that I payed your family a visit?"

"You can have dinner with us tomorrow night if you want," she offered right away, not knowing why she said it so quickly. She turned away, blushing slightly.

Farkle smirked at her. "I would love to."

"Hey," Maya said. "He's gonna take my spot?"

Riley looked at her. "You know good and well that my mom will have your plate waiting for you. Besides, she would expect you to be there, knowing that we're having Tacos . . ." Riley looked up at one of the lights, waiting for her reaction.

"Tacos you say?" She leaned forward, interested. "And you think Shawn will be there too?" She asked hopefully. The guy started coming around more often, and in the last year, while she was dealing with her dad leaving her, she leaned on Shawn for support, knowing that he knew what it felt like to be left.

Riley nodded. "He's back in New York for a couple weeks."

"I wish he'd stay longer," she admitted.

"You mean you wished he'd stay forever?"

Lucas, who had been quiet for too long asked, "who's Shawn?" His tone was unknown.

"Uncle Shawn is my dad's best friend from childhood." Riley took out her small container of sushi. "He's been coming around since I was really little. Since I was born, he's been traveling around the world, taking photos and writing for a website that pays him to go to these different places. Recently in the last year, he's been doing the same thing, but he seems to be back in New York within a few weeks and stays with my family." She looked at her best friend. "I know it's for you. I heard him talking to my dad about it the last time he was here and I think he's afraid to admit it to you, but he knows that because of everything that happened between you and your dad, and knowing that you look up to him, he doesn't want you to feel like he's left you too. That's why he comes back every few weeks, spends some time with you, and he always tells you that he'll be back soon."

Maya smiled slightly. "He sends me one post card from one place he's been to and then he brings me all of the rest once he's back here. Each of the cards has the date written and a note about his adventure." She lightly ate the crust of her sandwich. "You think he might look at me like a daughter one day?"

"I already know he does," Riley said. "He's very fond of you, Maya."

Lucas glanced over at Maya, who was obviously struggling with some personal family issues. He wished he could make her feel better somehow, but knew that was something that couldn't be fixed easily. Having a parent abandon was almost as if they died. But here mom was still here.

Maya was conflicted when it came to how she felt about her family life. Her mother was a half-mom who still had a good heart, just made bad decisions at times. Maya wished she was closer to her mother like Riley was with Topanga, but her father leaving was even worse for her mothers sanity, and the only way she'll let people in now, is not by sympathy, but a man to meets her needs and take away all the pain she was burdened of the last few years, or even how the last 18 years were a waste of time. The only piece that wasn't regretted, was Maya, and the young blonde knew that, because even though her mom had a hard time dealing, she did love her daughter and made a point to tell her every time she left the house, or before hanging up on the phone. Maya only wished she had quality time spent.

She glanced over to the side and noticed Lucas watching her. His expression was concerned. "What?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. Just thinking."

She was tempted to ask what he was thinking, but she still wasn't sure what to think of their little conversation earlier. Were they friends? Her eyes glanced around the table and it seem as if all of them were just looking back and forth to each other. Were they all considered friends now? How could it be possible that within four hours they went from scoffing and arguing to sharing their thoughts, and having deep connections?

They all sat in silence as they finished eating their lunch. After each one was done, they walked away from the table. Riley walked up the steps to her favorite spot in the Library. It was the spot she usually sat at when she would study here. Maya found her a bay window on the third floor of the library that overlooked the courtyard of their school, and it was also a perfect view of her graffitied roof. Lucas he'd reached into his bag and found a stress relieving ball that he normally fiddled with when he was bored, so he and Zay tossed it around in an open area in the middle of the room. Smackle was back to her normal seat, but maybe a little less focused as she glanced up every now and then to meet Zay's dark eyes that were so bright and full of life.

Farkle walked up and down the aisles of books, unsure of what he was looking for. That was the best part about being a book lover. Not in search for anything specific, but willing to find an adventure in browsing, waiting for anything to catch the eye. He continued to get closer to Riley's area, but didn't notice until he was standing at the end of the aisle looking at her. She was writing and in the zone and he didn't want to bother her, so he said nothing. Just before he turned to go back, he heard her speak. "You know you can join me if you want."

"I didn't want to bother you while you were writing," he said.

She glanced over at him. "You're not bothering me."

He walked over and sat on the other side of the bench. She turned to where her back rested on the side of the book case and her legs were on Farkle's lap. He didn't mind. It was as if it was a natural thing for them. He smiled at the ground thinking about how the thought of her being his favorite story so far. The natural light allowed her face to glow and look like a fantasy goddess from one of his favorite books. His thoughts moved at a million miles an hour, and there was no way his mouth would have been about to keep up.

Her expression grew hard, and she looked at him. "Who am I?" She asked, and the question caught him completely off guard. "I mean . . . I know who I want to be, but right now, I'm just . . . just . . ."

"Riley." He asked. "You're just Riley. You're sweet, compassionate, always willing to see the best in others, incredibly beautiful, intelligent, and a very talented musician. That's who you are. Riley Matthews."

The brunette smiled slightly, biting her lip. Farkle didn't have to say much to make her stomach flutter. It's not the first time she's noticed this too. Even in the halls, in the middle of the school day, she would be rushing to her next class and the locker from across hers would shut and her eyes would glance over at him. She clearly remembered this was the first time since she'd seen him after returning from Einstein Academy. He had a growth spurt, and wasn't wearing those bright colors he wore in middle school. She had chided herself back then about how he used to be one of her best friends, and now she was highly attracted to him.

She still was. Even staring at him now, it was a year and a half ago, and he matured even more. She was sure they could still find something to argue about, but right now she had the temptation to lean forward and kiss him, which was something she had been secretly wanting to do. She had never even told Maya about her crush on him. It was easy to do so, because they weren't in the same circles anymore, so she couldn't be awkward like she normally was around guys she liked. She blinked again, even now sitting beside him these last couple of hours she wasn't awkward and that was strange. She was natural and though her heart was beating a million miles an hour, she felt content.

Riley dropped her legs and scooted closer to him. "You think I'm beautiful?"

Farkle blinked, unsure of what was happening, because it seemed like she was getting closer to him. "I did say incredibly, right?" Was she going to kiss him? Why would she do that? Did she want to kiss him? Did he want to kiss her? Yes.

Lost in a trance, he leaned down, prepared to meet her half way when Maya called out her name from somewhere nearby, and they both internally groaned. Riley squeezed his knee and stood up from where she was sitting. Did he lose his chance? "I'll be right back."

The brunette walked down the aisle and out into the open and saw Maya standing there with a soft expression on her face. She grabbed Riley's arm and hauled her into one of the study rooms and closed the door.

"What is going on between you and Dr. Farklestein?" Maya demanded.

Riley huffed and crossed her arms. "Well probably nothing now, since you interrupted us." Maya raised her eyebrows at he best friend, motioning her to continue. "Yes, we were having a moment."

"You like Farkle?" Her blue eyes were bright and excited.

Riley nodded. "I've liked him for a while now. I just never acted on it, because I was too caught up in trying to be the best violin player I could be so that's why said nothing."

The blonde smiled. "That's cute Riles, but you still are going to be the best violin player you could possibly be. That won't change." Maya walked around the bland room. "You think something could happen between the two of you?"

"If you don't interrupt us next time, I think so." The brunette stated.

She walked towards the door and before she walked out, Maya blurted out, "I think I like Lucas."

Riley blinked, turning around slowly. She eyed the blonde carefully. "You think you like him, or you know you like him?"

"I don't know," Maya sat at one of the chairs and slumped over, confused. "We had an argument and I judged him before I even had a conversation with him, and then we had a heart to heart and it turns out that he is not the guy everyone thinks he is and I actually like his personality and now I don't know what to do, because you know me and relationships. The only stable relationship I have with anyone at this school is you. I've been on tons of dates with guys, but you know that I've never been serious about my feelings for them."

Riley put her hands up. "Calm down, Peaches. We'll figure this out. Are you unsure about what to do because you are afraid he won't return the feelings?"

That's exactly what she was afraid of. She nodded slowly. "What do I do?"

"Be nice, but not too nice. Just be yourself and just act natural." Riley stated.

"Says the girl who is never natural when it comes to the guy she likes."

"Hey, I happen to be doing well with Farkle. I've surprised myself." Riley looked down, really hoping that he was still sitting there.

Maya smirked. "You know Farkle likes you. He practically declared his love for you in the seventh grade." Riley rolled her eyes. "Seriously Riles, you never take risks. Try to act on a gut feeling, rather than overthink it all. For once in your life, you can do something without practice. If you're gut is telling you to begin something with Farkle, go for it."

Riley placed each of her hands on Maya's shoulders. "Sounds like you just gave yourself perfect advice, Peaches."

 _Huh, didn't see that one coming._ Maya watched as Riley turned towards the door. "What are you going to do?"

Riley smiled to herself. "I'm going to take a risk." There was no way she was going to miss that chance again. The brunette made her way back to the spot she left, and sure enough, Farkle was still sitting there, looking out the window. She couldn't believe how different he looked, compared to the Farkle she remembered back in middle school. His orange turtlenecks, wacky colored collared shirts, his bowl head haircut, and even though he was a little guy back then, his face had been rounder.

Now, he was tall, still thin, but filled out. He wore darker colors, consisting of graphic t-shirts that were space related everything, sweater vests, or button ups that made him look classy. His hair was short and spiked up in the front and was no longer the dirty blonde color it was, but a darker shade of brown. He such an attractive guy. Looking at him staring off to the side, she could see his sharp jaw line that no longer contained the looks of a boy, but instead a young man.

He looked back towards the aisle of books and stood up, noticing a different glimmer in her eyes. "Why are are you looking at me like that?" He asked cautiously.

"Do you remember when we were in middle school, and we had played in Romeo and Juliet?" She asked and he nodded slowly, unsure of where this was going. "You remember that just before Charlie Gardner was going to kiss me, you interrupted the entire play?"

He chuckled. "That was the most humiliating moment in middle school. I ruined Shakespeare. I would've probably been executed back in the 1600's if that would have been witnessed by the King or the play writer himself. I'm glad that people don't remember that dorky kid I was."

"I remember him," she stated. "He was my best friend."

"And you were mine," his voice was deep and low. The way he said that made Riley's insides turn. "You were the only one who clapped for me afterwards, even if I did ruin everything. You made me believe that I was a great actor. You filled me up with confidence that I was really special. You made me think that I could go after something that was totally unrealistic."

She approached him. "Those were the exact words you said before—"

"I kissed you?" He remembered the exact moment it happened. He looked down. "It doesn't even count. I missed your lips, and you cringed up even then. I might have acted like I scored the best thing, but I knew that I had just embarrassed myself." It was quiet for a few moments. "If only I had been taller. Anyway, why are we talking about this?" He looked back at her and realized how close they were.

He had to look down into her eyes because of how close she was to him. "Well you're a head taller than me now." With her hands, she pulled him down by his zip up jacket. "You can't miss this time."

Farkle's eyes fluttered closed as his lips lightly met hers, and his world seemed to explode all around them.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Alright my lovelies. Thank you for being so patient. Thank you for also being supportive of all my fics. I was sick towards the end of last week and lost a day of school work and writing, so I'm a day behind my schedule. I don't have a preview to the next chapter, but you will see it posted by next Wednesday at the latest!_


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